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"Raw" computin'

"Raw" computin'

  • Yes, it's easier to work on it that way.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • No, I've heard that it might cause cooling problems.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    0
T

Terry Yager

Veteran Member
Joined
May 1, 2003
Messages
8,763
Location
Saginaw, MI, USA 48601
For those of us (I know I'm not the only one) who tend to leave our computers "nekkid", i.e. without the outer skin, leaving the guts exposed for easy access, there may be some advantage to doing so. Last Saturday, my son's apartment was broken into, and the thieves made off with (among other things) his computer tower (they left the monitor, etc. behind). Later on, he figgered he had nothing to lose by checking around the local pawnshops to see if he could locate any of his stuff. When he pulled into the parking lot of the pawnshop closest to his place, lo and behold, he spotted his computer setting on the ground next to thier dumpster! He went into the pawnshop to ask the pawnbroker about it, and the guy told him that someone had tried to sell it to him a short time earlier, but that he wasn't interested because it didnt have it's outer cover installed. Well, he got a pretty good description of the guy, and the police came out and dusted the computer, and managed to lift a few good prints, so mebbe if the thief has a prior record (don't they all?), they may be able to bring him to justice, and mebbe even recover the rest of the stolen property.

--T
 
Well, the computer was the major expense to have to replace. He don't have the several hundred to buy a new machine. Everything else can be replaced rather cheaply, except for my record collection, which is virtually irreplaceable. (There's a local used-record shop that pays $.50 each for any vinal you bring them, so even at that price, he should get several hundred dollars easy money for close to a thousand LP's). Actually, I paid nearly $100.00 each for some of the Zappa albums. (Minimum price for any FZ album these days starts at around $30.00, and goes up from there). All I can hope for is that the thief gets a hernia from lifting all that weight and carrying it off.

--T
 
My newer system has no need to run with the cover off. It never needs work (atleast since I've owned it since January) and cooling is satisfactory enough this summer for me not to worry about it.

I remember on my older computer (Pentium II 333) I sometimes ran it with the cover off for a variety of reasons, the more notable being to tap the cooling fan on both the video card and the processor sometimes because they were starting to wear out and become quite noisy during operation. The other reason being I was doing work on it almost daily in some way or form.
 
I keep the cover off while I am working on a specific machines hardware, once it is finished (for that particular upgrade or fix) the cover goes back on. I try to start and finish the project as soon as possible because nothing sucks more then having a bunch of unusable machines. We have a bunch of cats here, one of which likes to chew on anything plastic so keeping things buttoned up is the best way to go.
 
Well, the good news is, the police called this morning, and they have matched up one of the prints to a person with a prior record of similar crimes. They don't know where to find him, but a warrant has been issued for him. There may be some hope after all.

--T
 
Good to hear that at least in some part of this world, the police cares about the citizens. If it was around here, I'm almost sure the police would say "so what?" when asked to take fingerprints and match against criminal records. Even if the offended person can track down and point out the suspect, it has to be a major crime for the police to really put some efforts in solving it. :(
 
Open computers:

Open computers:

The only "buttoned-up" computers here are either newly arrived or leaving soon. I doubt that I could find many of the covers...
 
Quick update: The local police managed to pick up the suspect, and he's being charged. They also recovered all of my son's property, everything except my record collection. Oh well, that's better than nothing, I s'poze...

--T
 
Hmm.. I voted yes, then read the thread.

I think I misunderstood the poll question..... :oops:
 
Terry Yager said:
Well, the computer was the major expense to have to replace. He don't have the several hundred to buy a new machine. Everything else can be replaced rather cheaply, except for my record collection, which is virtually irreplaceable. (There's a local used-record shop that pays $.50 each for any vinal you bring them, so even at that price, he should get several hundred dollars easy money for close to a thousand LP's). Actually, I paid nearly $100.00 each for some of the Zappa albums. (Minimum price for any FZ album these days starts at around $30.00, and goes up from there). All I can hope for is that the thief gets a hernia from lifting all that weight and carrying it off.

--T
Click to expand...

Major bummer !! I have a considerable collection of LPs and 78's and
some would be irreplaceable. My son lifted my Zappas some years ago
(Aw dad doesn't listen to these), I do miss hearing an occasional "Yellow
Snow" or "Dynamo Hum". Altho those prices are likely for mint condition
and my records tend to be well-used.

Lawrence
 
All I know is that FZ albums average around $15. a side (at the same record store that buys 'em for $0.50 apeice). The most I ever paid for one was $90.00 for a nice condition copy of Thing Fish, which is a triple album, so it still works out to the same price. I'm gonna miss the Zappas the most (he's my all-time favorite artist).

--T
 
Terry Yager said:
All I know is that FZ albums average around $15. a side (at the same record store that buys 'em for $0.50 apeice). The most I ever paid for one was $90.00 for a nice condition copy of Thing Fish, which is a triple album, so it still works out to the same price. I'm gonna miss the Zappas the most (he's my all-time favorite artist).

--T
Click to expand...

I have seen floods of Zappa cd images in the binaries newsgroups, so depending on how ethical you are you can replace some of your records with cd's.

I have tons of original tapes and cds that I listed to from time to time, but if they all got stolen I dont think they would be replaced because of the cost and the fact that most get listened to once every few years.
 
One (major) project that I just never got around to was copying choice parts of the collection to CD. Guess that's one project I don't have to worry about anymore.

--T
 
In my case, most of the old 78s, mostly Jazz, could never be replaced
unless they had been reproduced on LPs or CDs. The Japanese have been very good on quality recording of old jazz records, but only the most
popular. On the other hand, what intelligent burgler would steal 78s :lol:
 
In my case, most of the old 78s, mostly Jazz, could never be replaced
unless they had been reproduced on LPs or CDs. The Japanese have been very good on quality recording of old jazz records, but only the most
popular. On the other hand, what intelligent burgler would steal 78s :lol:

Unless he knew the value of an elvis Sun record.
 
78s have the nasty habit of easily breaking if you are not handling them with care. Maybe that is an equally or worse scenario than getting them stolen by a professional theif.

But yes, a few years ago, Abit (or was it Asus?) put a glass tube onto their new Pentium IV motherboards instead of a transistor (?) to get a more even power distribution which would affect the on-board sound system. I think it mostly was a gimmick, although I know amplifiers are likely to be built with tubes. Maybe someone will install a 78 rpm record player onto the next generation of portable computers, just for fun.

What is the optimally possible data bandwidth from a 33, 45 or 78 rpm record? Back in the old days, most compact cassette computer solutions limited themselves to 2400-3000 bps (or much lower), but I think the fidelity should be higher on a record than a compact cassette? I'm much too stupid to figure out how to make a proper calculation though.
 
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